Change Your Thinking And Calm Your Interview Nerves

 

Over the years, I have given plenty of advice to candidates on the topic of interview nerves, and what they need to remember in order to stay calm. In this blog I would like to share some of these insights with you, hopefully helping you to overcome your interview anxiety, giving yourself the best chance for success.

 

Picking up the phone and speaking to your recruiter is a great way to start calming your nerves. Is there anything playing on your mind about this opportunity? Any questions that need answering? Any information about the company that you’re not 100 per cent sure of?

 

Your recruiter will know their client very well, so give them a call to help put your mind at ease. They had enough faith in you to put you forward for the role. Speaking with them again might just give you the confidence boost you need.

 

Interview nerves can often be prompted by the fact that you need to talk about yourself for the best part of 45 minutes. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and understandably, this can be a bit daunting.

 

If this sounds like you, then practice answering some common interview questions about your background, your key skills and attributes and why you think you are right for the job. Your recruiter can provide you with practice interview questions or you can visit our website here.

 

If you can get someone to ask you practice questions, listen to your answers and give you feedback- even better. This will help you feel comfortable when talking about yourself to others, making the prospect of doing it in the interview room seem far less scary.

 

Negative thinking can send the best of us into a downward spiral of anxiety, and this is not the right mindset to be in before an interview.

 

Give yourself a pep talk, believe in yourself and remember all that you have achieved so far in your career. Now try to mentally visualise positive outcomes, from building up a good rapport with the interviewer to delivering great answers that set you apart.  Never underestimate the power of positive thinking, especially when it comes to your career success.

 

I have seen candidates get intimidated by their interviewers before they have even met them on the day. This is often because they are picturing a mysterious, powerful decision maker whose opinion counts for everything. Thinking in this way is enough to get anyone’s interview nerves going.

 

Let’s get the mystery element out of the way first. Look the interviewer up on LinkedIn and put a face to the name. Check out their career journey, and realise this person was once in your shoes, sitting on the other side of the desk feeling nervous.

 

In any job interview, there is a balance of power. Yes, this interviewer may be more senior to you, and yes, you may really want to impress them because you are very keen on this opportunity, but this feeling is somewhat mutual. The interviewer needs to attract the best talent and preserve their organisation’s reputation. Impressing you in the interview room is one sure-fire way to do this.

 

When you think of it this way, the interviewer is less a scary enigmatic stakeholder, and more a human being who wants to present the company and the opportunities on offer in the best light possible, whilst getting to know more about whether you are suitable for them.

 

An interview is not a lengthy interrogation during which the interviewer is trying to trip you up or make you look bad. They simply want to have a conversation about your skills, attributes and experience, as well as what you already know about the organisation, why you want to work there and how your style of working fits theirs. As long as you have prepared to talk about all of these things, you shouldn’t have anything to be nervous about.

 

This positive, rational and optimistic type of thinking will be much more easily achieved if you remember to look after your physical health in the lead up to your interview.

 

Get some exercise; the endorphins we produce when we move around are scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety.  Eat well, steer clear of alcohol, caffeine and junk food, and get plenty of rest. Having a healthy body goes hand in hand with having a healthy mind, and can act as the perfect supplement to reducing your interview nerves.

 

Finally, don’t forget to keep things in perspective. Of course, you want this interview to be successful, but in the grand scheme of your career, you will still get to where you want to be even if you aren’t successful in securing this particular role. So remember, do all you can to quell your interview nerves but don’t send yourself into a frenzy thinking this interview is the be all and end all.  Fingers crossed that it will be a success, but if not, it was good practice for your next interview.

 

 

• Eight Trichy Interview Questions - And How To Answer Them
• Stand Out On LinkedIn: Helping You Find Your Next Job Opportunity
• 11 Ways To Make Your Interview Feel Less Like An Interrogation And More Like A Conversation

Jane McNeill joined Hays in 1987 as a graduate trainee in their London head office after graduating with an MA (Hons) in Psychology from Edinburgh University. She began her career recruiting accountancy & finance professionals, before spending 11 years recruiting senior permanent professionals for London’s banking & finance sector. During this time she quickly progressed through management roles and in 1992 she was appointed Director after leading the London city business to a phenomenal post-recession recovery.

Jane transferred to Perth, Western Australia, in 2001. Over the next decade she grew Hays’ business in that state from a team of 15 to nearly 250 staff. She also established and managed  Hays’ banking & financial services business.

She was appointed to the Hays Australia & New Zealand management board in 2007. Now based in Sydney, Jane oversees Hays’ operations in both NSW and WA. She is responsible for 400 staff located in two states that are separated by a five-hour flight and a three-hour time difference. At the same time, she retains her keen interest and passion in banking & financial services recruitment by adding national responsibility for Hays Banking and Hays Insurance to her remit.